Goddess in Gold Trimmed Armor
by Miao Cai
Summary: ONESHOT. Since an incident that occurred when she was seventeen, Yue Ying had excelled in her Martial Arts Skills, but would what she has be enough to defeat the traitor Cao Cao? Slight Zhuge Liang x Yue Ying


_This story is a fic of accomplishment, where Yue Ying learns her own lessons and with her personalized armor and weapon, truly deserves to be called a "Goddess in Gold-Trimmed Armor"._

_Enjoy and R&R!_

Goddess in Gold-Trimmed Armor

Disclaimer – I do not own Dynasty Warriors. I am not making money off of this.

In my earlier days I was shoved away from most men, but I wouldn't care. They were all jerks, and I was glad that they went away otherwise I would have to waste my breath to do so. I spent most of my days at those times studying, rather than squander my time on these men who were all shallow and superficial. When I saw all the shallow men one day as I was passing by the marketplace, I swore to myself that I would never interact with these men and one day I would kill the most superficial of all.

Then one day one man actually threatened to hurt me, and the reason why he wanted to was because I was 'unfit' for the world of men. I scoffed, but was slightly frightened. He said he would be there in one week in the marketplace to harm me. I was a fool to exclaim that I would put him in more damage than he could me.

I ran home to my father and immediately called for his advice. He shook his head in terror and disappointment, thinking he raised his daughter plenty better than this. "There is only one thing we can do, Yue Ying," he told me. "You told this man that you would put a hurting on him and what would you do if you spoil the Huang family name by not doing so?"

I smiled, relieved that my father would support me. He summoned instructor after instructor after he found the perfect martial arts instructor who would teach a teenage girl the art of war; which I learned that day was more than just strategizing. Day after day I trained, until seven days had passed.

The first day I trained with my instructor, he asked me what my weapon of preference would be. I tested out the first weapon, the sword, and finding the result quite satisfying, I said this would be good. He said to me, "On a one-to-one duel a sword would be best if dismounted. But what if you have a horse?"

I blinked in confusion. "We won't have horses."

He shrugged. "So what if this incident won't be the only one? What if your next encounter like this occurs when you are training mounted?"

I took his words carefully and then we went on with longer weapons. I couldn't control the pole arms because they were too heavy. My instructor, slightly disappointed, sighed and said, "Eventually you will get stronger, though I can see since you have selected a light-weight iron sword as your close range weapon of preference you prefer speed, yes?"

I nodded. He looked over his weapons again and then picked one up for me. It was a scythe, quite light in weight yet I still had trouble controlling it. While I was practicing basic strokes, he remarked, "A scythe has greater range than a sword but smaller range than a spear. I would say this weapon would be good on foot if you can control it correctly."

And the first day ended. The next day I learned to control a sword and scythe while dismounted, practicing offensive and defensive moves. On the third day I learned to control the two weapons mounted, defensive and offensive. The day after that I had a little sparring match with my instructor to see what points I had to adjust. Apparently I had problems fighting on land as I couldn't move as swiftly, and he told me as a reflection of this, "Your problem is you don't move when you are on foot. Feel free to move along with your weapon, no matter what way it swings you. Think of your weapon as your mind; follow it, and never let it go." So after this, he told me to use all my energy when fighting one-on-one and use clearing attacks when surrounded.

On the fifth day my instructor helped me focus deeper into combat on foot. We dueled again, and the same problem was exposed. He sighed and said to me, "You have done this better than all the women I have ever taught. Take the rest of the day off and tomorrow we will continue."

I bowed in joy and in exhaustion as I went back to my father's mansion, stripping and resting in a spring.

The next day when I woke I was sore all over; you would think that five days of intensive training would have affected me earlier! Nonetheless I went out training again, but my instructor noticed these signs. He told me to take the rest of the day off again, but I refused. Even so, he pushed me back to my father's mansion and told him the story. Agitated, I walked into my room, crying. There was no way I could defeat the man without a horse!

On the seventh day, I took my sore self to the marketplace, telling my father not to come for the sake of my dignity. Understanding this, he swore not to come, though I could tell it was painful for him to watch me leave, probably never coming back. Before I had pushed the main door to the exit, he called to me, "Ying wait!"

I looked back and waited for him to continue.

"Daughter!" he exclaimed, taking me into a tight embrace. "Be careful."

"Don't worry about me," I said, stepping back. "Blame me not if I fail, ok?"

He muttered a few words and then, finally, I was off. It was not long until I found the marketplace. There he was, standing in the center of it. Laughing and pointing to me, he said, "Ahh! It's the She-Man! Help me!" Along with him came the taunts of his 'followers', the shallow men I had always learned to hate.

Seething, I pulled my sword from its sheath and cursed wildly at him as our two swords collided. "You can call me all you wish," I cursed, pushing my sword harder. "You'll just eat your words in the end!"

Unfortunately he noticed I had bad posture and took advantage. Pulling back as if he had lost that bout, he forced me forward, and thus, taking the benefit of my stumble, took his sword sheath and slammed it on the back of my head.

I woke later that day in my room, surrounded by my father and a few maids. "What happened . . . ?" I asked, feeling the throbbing in my head.

"You lost," replied my father softly, handing me my sword. "You may want to put this away."

I gasped. "You came?"

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't just watch you go to what could be your death without me coming."

"How could you?" I exclaimed, disappointed.

"If I didn't come," my father began, "You would be dead by now."

I sighed and slowly rested back again, my sword in my hands. I understood how my father felt; having my uncles, aunts and mother die left me with no one but him in my family, yet it had to be worse for my father. He had lost his father, mother, sisters, brothers, cousins, his wife . . . all he had left was me and now I understood.

"I'm sorry," I replied through tears. "I nearly died and stained the family name."

"It's okay," he replied in the same loving tone as before. "Just get some rest now and you'll be fine tomorrow." With this, he checked a few things in my room and then left me to go to sleep; yet that was the exact opposite of what I would do.

I wanted to restore my family name because now the entire province of Jingzhou laughed at the Huang family name. I seethed and touched the side of my head which was struck. It would have been plenty worse if the sword was drawn from the sheath. I wouldn't die.

Determined to defeat him even in my current state, I took my other weapon, the scythe, even though I was more skilled with the sword, and snuck out. Checking if anyone was following me, I went to a room outside the mansion where my father kept the rarest things. The guards who were supposed to guard it were sleeping on the floor where they usually were at this hour. I snickered and looked around to see if there was anything I could use.

I gasped at the sight of what was in front of me. It was a beautiful scythe inlaid with gems and, apparently, had an appearance that looked like it would cut clean, cleaner than my sword or scythe.

I took it out carefully and then rubbed over it a few times. I took it and went back outside. I stared at a series of long bamboo trees and then, taking a deep breath, swung the scythe repeatedly, and like my instructor said, swung myself rhythmically with the weapon, in the end, I stood behind the series, scythe in hand, and the sound of falling trees shook the land.

I smiled as I held this weapon; it was much better than mine. Recalling it was my father's, I went back inside the room and used my old scythe to replace the one I took.

After all of this was done, I went back to the scene of the crime: the center of the marketplace. There he was, enjoying drinks with several other women. I snapped to him, "Are you going to just stand there?"

He noticed me and then said the same thing as before. The women around him giggled, the rest laughing and pointing. I grumbled and the moonlight struck my scythe, revealing it to him. Once he saw it, he drew his sword and we fought.

My scythe did strike clean! After I swung once, just once, his iron sword snapped apart. "Afraid of me now?" I asked, pushing my weapon closer to him. If it cut so clean through his weapon, I imagined how it would cleave him.

He stumbled back to a wall and then gasped when he realized he was cornered. I laughed at him and wanted to teach him a little lesson rather than kill him, but I couldn't resist. His face would look so good after I would deform it.

I slapped the flat side of the scythe against his face, laughing as he shrunk from fear. The women who were surrounding him earlier were no where to be found, but I could care less about then. Focusing on him again, I stepped on his leg and raised my scythe above my head, ready to finish him.

"Enough!" exclaimed my father from behind me. Along with him was my instructor, who nodded and smiled. "Yue Ying, let him go. He doesn't deserve to be killed by you, but by a lesser person."

I smiled at my father and pulled the scythe down. "I did it."

"Not really," my father said. "You didn't hurt him yet." My instructor took the man by his back collar, holding him so the man faced me.

"Oh, my apologies," I said, feigning kindness to the man. "I almost forgot."

The man hyperventilated when I grew closer to him. Putting my hand on his chin, I said, "You're a very cruel man, do you know that?" He couldn't respond. I then took two fingers and jabbed his eyes, but that wasn't enough; I raised my knew up swiftly, hoping I broke it.

While walking back home, my instructor said to me, "I am impressed, Lady Huang. Tell me, here did you get this scythe from? I have not seen you use it once."

My father explained, "It was from my storeroom, which my daughter had no access to. Apparently the guards fell asleep."

"Forgive me," I replied shyly.

"Its okay," my father replied. "Do you like that weapon?"

I shrugged. "It's fine . . ."

"Then it's yours!" my father exclaimed, laughing. "You earned it. There's another 'treasure', but I will not hand it to you as easily."

The week after that my instructor taught me to attack from distance, in other words, the bow and arrow. No doubt I couldn't control it well because I never could aim straight and I always used too much energy. My right hand, which held the arrow, kept slitting my other hand when I would place the arrow incorrectly. My instructor showed me a way of putting it in without slitting myself, but that way might be harder because then my left hand would have to hold the bow correctly. I always slid the arrow on, but my instructor insisted on having the arrow being slapped horizontally on the bow.

That way made me use less energy and increase my accuracy, but the hits were never fatal. My instructor made a dummy of straw and leather and told me to aim for its heart. I pulled my arrow back and after concentrating for a few seconds, released it. I watched in horror as I missed and nearly killed one of the nearby servants.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, "I'm still learning to wield this wretched weapon!"

My instructor shook his head. "Say you were in pursuit of someone, but you could never catch up because their horse was faster. Then the best thing to do would be release an arrow instead of thrusting your prized scythe."

I understood what he meant and tried again, this time, all servants and maids out of the way. Concentrating again, I slapped the arrow on, pulled it back and released. This time, it had barely missed the head.

"You're getting better," my instructor observed, "And you proved yourself well. You can now slide on your arrows. Go on, try it."

I slid another arrow from my quiver to the bow, pulled the string with the arrow and let it fly, but it didn't fly as far since I had once again slit my left hand. My instructor bandaged my hand, told me to wear a leather glove and commanded me to shoot again, sliding my arrow. I did as told, and released it once more; the leather had stopped the arrow from hitting my left hand which was good, but my arrow didn't fly well.

"When you shoot," he began, "Try to leave the arrow away from your left hand, but not too away that you can't shoot it. Try again."

I nodded and slid and arrow, focusing on my target, I knew this time I wouldn't miss. I let the arrow fly and watched it as it hit the dummy's head!"

"Good!" he exclaimed. "You now know how to shoot arrows while dismounted on a dismounted target; now are you ready for one target which moves?"

"I am!" I exclaimed, prepared.

The rest of the day I shot moving targets, like birds or criminals, and eventually later that week I shot moving and non-moving targets while mounted. I was proud of myself.

I mastered every weapon I could find after that, and every weapon took less than a month. No matter what I did though, my new scythe was my favorite weapon and second to that were swords. Nonetheless while I learned how to fight armed and unarmed, mounted and dismounted, I continued learning about how to strategize. One day I came to the final duel with my instructor; each bout ended in a stalemate and no one was found victor until sundown. I couldn't believe I had won.

I have this moment embedded in my head so because it was this time that when I had proved the people wrong and I had become the wonderful woman I am today. But today, maybe I wasn't as wonderful.

It was an expedition against Wei. I was fighting proudly with my female bodyguards, all mounted, when a figure appeared in front of me. I recognized him easily and the banners behind him read: "Cao Cao, Emperor of Wei".

"So it's just another woman who thinks she can go into war?" he had said, raising his sword. "You're not even enough to walk near the Bronze Bird. Kill her, so I won't have to see that face again!"

I have proved myself easily riled by my history. Furious by his words, I charged forward along with my few hundred troops against his thousands.

We had bout after bout after bout but no one could seem to break through. One Wei officer, Xiahou Dun, ran to his commander and said, "Retreat! They have taken Dingjun and Tiandang!"

"Well," remarked Cao Cao, "Now I have an excuse not to see this witch again."

I growled and pursued them foolishly. I followed them into a hilly-area, where I realized I was trapped. Xu Huang shot an arrow from atop a hill and struck me in the knee, between my leg and my ankle. Had it not been for my bodyguards, it would have been the end of me.

As I rested back, the sound of this particular room was terrifying; men were _dying _here. I shook my head and waited for the pain to stop because the useless drugs I took earlier did nothing. I slowly moved myself to sit up and bring my legs to my chest and I hugged my legs, being careful with the injured one. I took off my boots and then rubbed my legs.

"Where is Lady Huang?" called one soldier, looking around.

"I am here," I replied, looking over.

The soldier turned around and said I was here. I peered over and tried to see who was there without straining myself and it turned out to be my husband. "Are you okay?" he asked me, slightly surprised to find me here.

"An arrow struck me, dear," I replied, running my finger up and down my injured leg. "Nothing too serious."

"That's great to hear," he said, sitting next to me. "But I bear bad news."

"It can't be _that_ bad," I replied, holding his hand. "What is it?"

It must have taken him a lot to force the words out of his mouth, because he didn't reply until ten minutes after. "Three days ago . . . your honored father . . ."

I sat there for a moment, feeling my tears flowing.

Zhuge Liang embraced me tightly and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," I whispered, holding on to him as if I was for dear life. Taking a deep breath I continued, "My father lived a very happy life."

"As long as anyone has you, their life is precious," replied my husband, pulling me closer. "I have to tell you he left everything he has for you."

"I don't care about the possessions!" I exclaimed, pulling him away from me. "The only real things that matter are the little things we had . . ." I continued crying.

"I have a letter from him," my husband replied, rubbing my back. "Would you like me to read it?"

Still in my depressed state, I nodded and waited for him to speak.

Zhuge Liang swallowed down and began, " 'Daughter, it has been years since you have last visited, but I know you are out assisting the people so I do not blame you. Daughter, I am sick, and I fear I am not long for this world. I have told you about a 'treasure' when you were younger, and now it is time to pass it on to you.' "

I looked up, furious at my husband. "I said I don't care about the little items," I snarled, pushing him back, far enough to fall off.

He rubbed his back and then replied to me, "Yue Ying, he wrote a letter to me making sure you don't lament too deeply for him."

"He was my _father_," I replied, pulling out a handkerchief. "What kind of filial daughter am I not to?"

Immediately he responded, "He wants you to help unite the land. It is more important to him than his own life."

I sniffed and helped pull my husband to his feet. "Sorry," I whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about me now," my husband replied softly, taking a seat alongside me again. "Let's hope you get better soon so we can defeat the scoundrel Cao and unite the land."

I sniffed and nodded, leaning against my husband. "So what did my father want to give me?" I asked, in a slightly more playful tone.

My dear looked at me and then replied, "Are you sure . . .?"

I nodded.

He left for a moment and came back with a large golden box, more long and wide than it was tall. He put it on the bed and whispered to me, "This is it."

I slowly pulled open the lid and gasped at the sight of it. It was a steel breastplate and skirt. I, surprised by this, pulled it out the box. It was inlaid with carved decorations of dragons and tigers. The steel breastplate covered only from the top of my breasts to my waist; not protecting my arms because it would make it difficult to move. The steel skirt was indeed made of steel, but the center of it, front and back had no steel at all, but hard leather so it would be easier for me to mount, dismount and run. On the side of the armor written vertically the breastplate had the character "god" on it and on the skirt read "in gold-trimmed armor". That was when I noticed the armor was trimmed gold!

No doubt my husband was as shocked as I was. "Your father is a very kind man," he said, putting his arm around me. "He is that determined that you will help unite the land, and so am I." Liang pulled me closer and kissed me. "Don't disappoint us, ok?"

I gave a whole-hearted laugh and embraced him. "Of course I won't. I swear on my family I won't."

After that I feel asleep and waited for the next day. My leg felt better that day and I stood up. There was still a sting but that was all. I guess the medicine did work. Walking outside, I was greeted by some troops, my bodyguards and some officers, but I wasn't looking for them. Where was my husband?

I peeked inside his tent, finding him polishing my armor for me. "Ah, Yue Ying, you're awake. You're well too, thank the Heavens for that."

I giggled and sat down next to him. "Why are you polishing my armor?"

"I thought you would get well today and I would polish this armor for you for when you go into battle again, but I decided against you going into battle and decided just to polish it."

I was touched by my dear's gentle nature and responded, "Very funny Liang, but I'm going into battle today. You can't say anything to stop me."

"I figured so," he replied to me as he finished polishing the last piece. "Yue Ying, can you wear this for me right now?"

I smiled, nodded, took the armor and undressed behind a screen. Moments later I came back, fully dressed in the new armor. My husband's eyes widened when he saw me and then whispered, "You look beautiful."

I blushed and replied, "Not worth your comments. If this armor was not trimmed or decorated it would look similar to my present armor."

"Well," my husband continued, "Still."

"Yes," I finished, "I'm still going to battle."

He sighed and threw his arms. "I tried!"

Later on that day my husband prepared our horses and the, surprisingly, mounted on his own! "What are you doing?" I asked, surprised.

"I'm not letting you go without me," he replied, "After yesterday I'm a little shaken."

I tilted my head and responded, "Aww, husband, you're so sweet. But what if you slow me down in battle?"

"I won't," he replied. "I will only use my own skills to defend myself and defend you. Sound good?"

I nodded and smiled. We rode out to the mainlines where we met the Wei army again. I readied my weapon and rode forth. "Where is the lecherous commander?" I asked, waving my weapon. "Tell him to fight me, unless he's afraid of a woman! I understand it perfectly if he is! Once he's seen a woman with a blade, he's afraid of what little thing she might aim it at!"

From the crowd of Wei, Cao Cao appeared. "You will regret those words, hag!" he exclaimed, charging.

My husband, mounted on his horse behind me nodded as I went straight for the commander. Then Cao Cao noticed my dear was on the field.

"Zhuge Liang is here! Capture him now! Ten thousand strings of _yuan_ for the man who captures him and brings him back to Wei, dead or alive!" exclaimed Cao, holding out his sword to deflect my blow.

I gasped. His little speech attracted all his troops to my husband, which left Cao and I alone in a duel while my dear deflected all the blows with a wave of his mystical fan that caused a field of energy around him and his steed.

I had, unfortunately, focused for a second too long on my husband, which Cao Cao saw easily. He took his blade and swung it to my side, the side that read "god". I fell off my horse and hit the ground terribly hard. Cao Cao looked over at his sword and then at me. "The sword should have killed you!" he exclaimed. "The finest Wei blacksmith made it with the top Wei steel!"

I realizing my armor saved me, laughed and swung my weapon at Cao's horse, causing it to die upon impact. Cao Cao fell off but easily retaliated, the sword in his hand. He killed my own horse. Then it struck me; would I, a woman, be enough to defeat him? Even more so, would I be enough to fulfill my father's ambition? I took a deep breath and swung my weapon.

Cao Cao deflected it again and using his sword alone he pulled off my breastplate, leaving a layer of leather and flesh between Cao Cao's weapon and my heart. I, myself, fearing death, swung my weapon one final time. If I were to miss, I would might as well die, for that would leave me in a position easily to be struck. I had hit but not as well as I expected, because Cao Cao once again blocked my blow.

Then the gongs for his side rang. Xiahou Dun came up again and said to his commander, "Retreat!"

No! I wouldn't let this happen! Xiahou Dun dismounted and gave his steed to Cao Cao, who began taking off. His steed was quick!

My dear dismounted, grabbed my waist and threw me on his horse as I begun pursuit of Cao Cao. In the corner of my eye I saw Xiahou Dun pull his bow and shoot an arrow at me. I gasped in dismay and frantically thought of what to do. I twisted my body around and snatched the arrow before it hit me! Then I took out my bow, slid the arrow, and shot it to Cao Cao. I watched desperately in horror, praying that I didn't miss and my measure of accuracy was the same as the energy I used to release it. The arrow flew in the air, flowing into the direction I forced it in. My heart pounded so and my gaze was locked on the arrow, until I couldn't see it anymore. It was lodged in the traitor! _I did it! _I thought to myself, a smile slipping onto my face. _I did it!_ As he fell I dismounted and sauntered to his body.

Wei troops, seeing this, immediately bowed down to my husband and me, submitting their alliance. Xiahou Dun retreated and ran off with all the troops he had left.

I took a hold of Cao Cao's body and laughed at its sight. "Look, he's terrified!" I dropped him, pulled my scythe over and beheaded the traitor, his blood pouring over the floor. _For you, father_, I thought while beheading him. I took his head and put it in a leather sack and tied it to my weapon; I would continue the sacrifice of the traitor's blood and head to my father's name later when I got back home.

I smiled at my husband, sighed and said, "What a day."

My dear was held the gold-trimmed steel breastplate in his hands. "I believe this is yours?"

I chuckled for a bit and slipped it back on. Zhuge Liang tilted his head, staring at my side. Then after a brief moment, he laughed, took me by my waist and pulled me to his horse. I wondered why he was staring at me like that before, and I suddenly realized why when I peered over my side.

My entire armor now read, "Goddess in Gold-Trimmed Armor", but more importantly, I believed it.


End file.
